The Syrian Electronic Army is ready for its close-up

Conveniently, it’s on a TV network that refers to Syrian rebels as “terrorists.”

The Syrian Electronic Army, the self-described “youths” who’ve hacked the social media accounts of nearly every major Western news agency, are about to hit prime time.

The Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen news network has scored an interview with the mysterious hacker group, which has already been recorded and is set to air Thursday evening.

To date, the SEA has been very explicit about their allegiances. In hacking the Twitter accounts of agencies like the Associated Press and New York Times, they’ve condemned anyone who supports the Syrian rebels. But the group’s been almost entirely mum about their actual identities. They’ve disputed Anonymous attempts to dox their identities. The group’s numbers, names, and the extent of the Syrian state’s involvement is currently unknown.

Al-Mayadeen got the SEA interview, at least in part, for its ideology. Often referred to as the “anti-Al Jazeera,” the network reportedly has a clear pro-Syrian government stance, referring to Syrian rebels as “terrorists.” A member of the SEA told journalist Matthew Keys that the group chose Al-Mayadeen because it was “more trusted than Al Jazeera.”

A member of the SEA told the Daily Dot that while it won’t reveal any members’ identities, “the interview will show detailed informations about how is SEA organized and about the SEA latest attacks.”

One thing that they don’t need to explain is how they actually get news organizations’ passwords. Unfortunately for the Daily Dot, it’s because even really smart people tend to fall for really simple phishing scams.

A former senior politics reporter for the Daily Dot, Kevin Collier focuses on privacy, cybersecurity, and issues of importance to the open internet. Since leaving the Daily Dot in March 2016, he has served as a reporter for Vocativ and a cybersecurity correspondent for BuzzFeed.